A cancer diagnosis used to cause fear and loneliness; it was usually thought of as terminal, which led to a quick decline and little chance of recovery. Survival sometimes meant reflecting on a tiresome fight ending in loss. However, the dawn of early diagnosis, individualized medicine, and focused treatment changed this view; chronic care now replaces the need for any cure.

Important malignancies, including breast, prostate, and some leukemias, are now treated for years or even decades. Survivors are not statistical anomalies anymore; in the U.S., as of 2021, over 18 million cancer survivors live active, meaningful lives. Once a disruptive force, cancer now becomes a companion that shapes routines and refocuses priorities, sometimes gently but constantly interwoven into identity and relationships. Still, long-term survival brings the burden of living under constant uncertainty like a “Sword of Damocles” always hanging. Studies show that long-term survivors frequently experience anxiety, sadness, and existential uncertainty, trying to match the extension of life with the constraints placed by illness; hence, the psychological load is considerable.